If you run an escape room, you’ve likely poured time, energy, creativity – and quite possibly a decent amount of MDF – into building an immersive experience your customers won’t forget. But when it comes to protecting your business through insurance, there’s one often-overlooked area that could make or break your recovery from a serious incident: getting your sums insured right.
What Are Sums Insured?
In simple terms, the “sum insured” is the maximum amount your insurer will pay out for a particular category of assets under your policy – whether that’s contents, computers, tenants’ improvements, fixtures and fittings, or stock.
If you underestimate these values, you risk being underinsured, which could leave you footing a hefty portion of the bill in the event of a claim.
Insuring for Reinstatement – Not Scrap Value
Here’s where many escape room owners go wrong: they apply depreciation when valuing their kit.
You might think, “Well, I built that puzzle prop for £30 using car boot finds and scrap wood, and it’s four years old – surely it’s only worth £10 now.” But that’s not how insurance works.
Commercial property insurance is typically on a reinstatement basis, meaning the insurer expects you to insure the cost of replacing the item or rebuilding the room as new – not what it might sell for on eBay.
So ask yourself: if your room were gutted by fire tomorrow, what would it actually cost to get it back up and running fast? That includes buying materials at retail price, hiring contractors, sourcing custom tech or props at speed, and perhaps even paying extra to expedite shipping.
A Word on DIY Builds and Bootstrapped Creativity
We know escape room owners are famously inventive. Many build their rooms from scratch, rummaging through antique fairs, adapting items from hobby shops, and squeezing every last drop of value from a tight budget. That’s great when you’re launching or upgrading your games slowly over time.
But if disaster strikes, you probably won’t have the luxury of six weeks to reassemble everything yourself in the evenings.
The priority will be speed, not frugality. To minimise downtime, you may need to outsource or buy ready-made replacements.
And that’s where your sums insured need to reflect what it would cost someone else to rebuild it quickly, not what it cost you originally.
How to Work Out the Right Values
To make sure you’ve got the correct sums insured, here’s a quick guide by asset type:
Contents (furniture, décor, AV kit, etc.)
This basically includes anything movable within the premises, such as furniture, decorations and moveable props.
List everything in your venue and estimate the cost to buy it new today – not second-hand.
Computers & Tech Equipment
This should include office computers, tablets used for clues, CCTV systems, and servers.
Again, use current replacement costs – if your camera is stolen insurers will generally replace it with a new one.
Tenants Improvements / Fixtures & Fittings
This covers anything you’ve added or altered in the property – walls, flooring, built-in features, aircon, lighting, etc.
Think about how much a contractor would charge to reinstall it all.
Props and Set Pieces
Consider what it would cost to remake or replace these using outside help or professional services, especially if you need them built quickly.
If in doubt, overestimate rather than underestimate. It’s better to be slightly overinsured than disastrously under.
Moveable props need to be included within the Contents figures, whereas fully fixed ones should be included within the Tenants Improvements / Fixtures / Fittings values.
A Note on Stock — Covered on an Indemnity Basis
Unlike most of the other categories listed above, stock is usually insured on an indemnity basis, not reinstatement. That means the insurer will look to cover you for the value of the stock at the time of loss, not the cost of buying it brand new.
So, if you hold merchandise, branded items, food/drinks, or even prop materials waiting to be installed in a future room, you should insure them for their replacement cost at the point of loss – which typically means the cost price, not the sale price or what you originally paid years ago.
While this may sound like a subtle distinction, it’s an important one. If you overstate the value of your stock using retail prices, you may be overpaying on premiums; if you understate it, you risk not getting enough to replace what’s lost.
The Cost of Higher Sums Insured Is Often Minimal
You might assume that a higher sum insured means a big jump in your premium. But in reality, the extra cost is often marginal, with the bulk of escape room premiums apportioned to the Liability risk.
It is a particularly low spend when weighed against the potential cost of being underinsured.
For example, increasing your contents sum insured by £10,000 might only increase your premium by a few pounds a month. Compare that to trying to rebuild a heavily themed escape room on a £5,000 shortfall.
Final Thoughts
Getting your sums insured right isn’t just a box-ticking exercise – it’s about making sure your business can bounce back quickly if something goes wrong.
Take the time to do a proper assessment and base your numbers on what it would really cost to bring your escape room back to life, fast and professionally.
Remember: you’ve already built an amazing world. Make sure your insurance is strong enough to help you rebuild it, just in case. Get in touch with No Spoilers today to ensure you’re covered.
